<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Mistaken Case of Dating by dizzydreamerphan</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001106">The Mistaken Case of Dating</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzydreamerphan/pseuds/dizzydreamerphan'>dizzydreamerphan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christopher Diaz Has Two Dads, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Friendzone, M/M, Not Beta Read, One-Sided Relationship, oblivious boys</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:35:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzydreamerphan/pseuds/dizzydreamerphan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A story in which Ana Flores thinks Christopher Diaz is the luckiest boy and how she friend-zones Eddie from the start.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>581</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Mistaken Case of Dating</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As a teacher, you really shouldn’t have favorites… well, that’s what they say but ask any teacher and they will admit they definitely have favorites. In the classroom of Ana Flores, the boy that stole her heart was Christopher Diaz. How could anyone not love the boy? With his curly hair and bright smile, he made her turn into putty. Even though he had special needs, truthfully Ana believed that Christopher never really considered himself “different” than the other kids. It was with that attitude that allowed him to form bonds with all his peers and be one of the most popular kids in the class.</p><p>Ana knew a little bit about Chris and only then, it wasn’t a lot of information. When the school year started, the original teacher had been Mrs. Ida but she moved to Alabama to take care of her sick mother. Ana, who was searching for an opening in elementary schools closer to her home, jumped at the offer from the school. During the transition, Ida was able to give Ana a quick rundown of the children and even made Ana a cheat sheet to detail the kid’s progress and important notes about them. Under Christopher Diaz, Ana will always remember the following items: <em>sweetest kid, divorced parents, dad has custody but mother passed away in a car accident, dad is a firefighter with the LAFD (118) and can be hard to get ahold of – contact Carla Price (Chris’s nurse) is usually the best form of contact. Chris has cerebral palsy</em>.”</p><p>In the first couple weeks, it was a bit rocky for Ana to get the hang of everything but then, it was easy to be the teacher for this group of kids, especially Christopher. Due to his special needs, she did have to spend somewhat extra time with Chris to help accommodate him. Ana couldn’t help but be more impressed with this kid, who seemed to forget that he had CP and was such a smart kid. During their extra time, some of the assignments would just be for him to read more out loud and then draw a picture to go along with his story to help his dexterity. Christopher loved to draw so he always got intensely involved. This is always how she learned so much about him… and then the rest of the 118.</p><p>“Wow, this is really good Chris. Who is this man that is with you and your father?” Ana asked, peering over Christopher’s shoulder one day during their free time.</p><p>Chris, moving his hands more off of the paper, looked up with Ana with a big smile on his face. “This is Buck!” He exclaimed, clearly believing she would know what that meant.</p><p>“Buck?” Ana asked, clearly left out of the loop. She racked her brain, trying to recall if she ever heard anything about a <em>Buck</em> before.</p><p>“Buck! He will always be there to protect my dad.” Christopher, clearly wanting to get back to drawing, picked up a blue colored pencil and got back to work, effectively cutting the conversation short. It was obvious that Ana was lacking in the knowledge of whatever this ‘Buck’ was. That was the first time she heard of Buck and it wouldn’t be the last. She would get many more written stories and pictures about him. Most of them involving fire trucks and hearts over them.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p><br/>
Ana still remembered the day that Carla called to pull Christopher from school. She received a message from the receptionist informing her that Chris would be absent today due to a family emergency. Ana didn’t have any additional details but the next day when Chris did come back to school, he was clearly depressed.</p><p>At the beginning of the class, Ana pulled Chris aside and asked him what was wrong. Turns out Buck got crushed by a firetruck and was in the hospital. Ana gave Chris a hug while he cried and allowed him to sit outside the classroom for privacy while he got his emotions under control. Like a trooper, he held it together and if he didn’t actually participate in the assignments, Ana left him alone. After the class ended and all the kids filed out, her eyes followed the sad gait of Christopher as he left the room.</p><p>Feeling saddened just thinking about Chris, it dawned on her to search the news – a firefighter being crushed by the truck would surely be on the news. After some searching, she did find the article that described the bombings and watched as the crowd of people lifted the truck off of the firefighter. As she listened to the screaming of the man trapped, Ana found herself holding back tears. This is the man that Christopher idolized, and she couldn’t imagine having this happen to someone she loved. She definitely heard about the bombings but never would have imagined it closely would affect Christopher in this way.</p><p>She quickly logged off her internet browser and vowed to bring the class some cookies tomorrow. And if she only brought them for one particular English class, who would know?</p><p>After Buck seemed to be doing good with his recovery, she was treated to the bright and cheerful Christopher she knew. She heard many more family stories and it warmed Ana’s heart.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>And then the tsunami happened.</p><p>Ana remembers the chaos surrounding this natural disaster and during the news coverage, was praying none of her students were involved. Then, the following day, she got a phone call that Chris was at the pier and would be absent from school for a couple days. While he wasn’t injured, the trauma could be a lot to handle.</p><p>When she finally did see Chris when he came back to class, she was able to learn that Buck took Chris out for the day and they went to the pier. Buck saved Chris and a lot other people but was in the hospital recovering because he hurt himself. Throughout the whole story, the only thing Chris kept saying was that Buck was his hero. Buck saved him. Buck was Chris’s world.</p><p>The story and picture she got that week caused her to cry. It was a picture of Chris surrounded with water sitting on top of a firetruck with Buck sitting next to him. It had the following caption underneath from Chris: </p><p>Buck will always save me. He is brave and rescued so many people. My Buck is a hero. When I lost Buck, I just waited for him to come back. A nice woman helped me. And as we walked, we looked for Buck. We found each other at the end. Dad, Bucky and me will always save each other. I have nightmares about the water but it’s really the fear of losing Buck. I don’t think daddy could handle that. I think my dad loves Buck more than my mom and while I miss my mom, I think it’s okay for Buck to be my parent too.</p><p><br/>
*</p><p> </p><p>After the tsunami, it was like something changed. Ana saw Buck a lot. <em>And she means a lot</em>. First, Christopher had his emergency contacts updated and now Buck was there almost everyday picking Chris up or dropping him off at school. Apparently, Buck wasn’t allowed to return to work so he was spending his free time with Chris. Ana gathered that this meant he moved into the house because all she heard about was late nights and early mornings involving Buck, pancakes and morning cartoons.</p><p>And once she saw actually laid eyes on Buck, she realized that she definitely had a thing for men wearing jeans and a LAFD shirt. Or maybe it was just that man wearing the shirt. When she was introduced to him, she fell in love. How could you not fall in love with him? Eddie Diaz was a lucky man.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p><br/>
Now, it may seem strange that she never met Eddie. She communicated with him via texts, emails and phone calls but never in person. That was all Carla. But Eddie could never really manage some of the events with his schedule as a first responder but he made it to the important ones. And, Chris never needed a parent for much of her time as his English teacher.</p><p>So, when she first met Eddie Diaz at a parent teacher conference, all she could think was that Buck was also a lucky man. Christoper had to have the most attractive parents ever.</p><p>During the meeting, Ana couldn’t help wish that he was flirting with her. If she didn’t know about his partner, she would have taken that meeting another way. Ana was pleased with how the meeting went and was happy that she now had a relationship with both parental figures in Chris’s life.</p><p>When the skateboard incident occurred, that went out the window when Eddie flipped out on her. So much for a friendship. When Eddie apologized later, she realized that he was only there because of Buck. She knew this because Buck had stopped by and talked to her about the accident and how he was able to provide the advice needed and spoke to Chris about everything. When Ana told Buck that he was a good stepdad, Buck kind of just spaced out for a minute and then just laughed. “Well, actually I am-” whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the sounds of her students flooding into her classroom for her first class of the day. With a shrug, Buck gave her a wave and they said their goodbyes.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p><br/>
To say she was a little taken aback by Eddie sending her a text asking her out for dinner would be an understatement. She was very shocked until she realized that Buck must be behind Eddie trying to make amends.</p><p>She agreed to dinner because well, it’s not like she has anything else going on in her life and she needed more friends. <em>(Plus, she would get to know more about Buck… what, she’s only human!)</em> While the original plan was for them to go out to a restaurant, Chris apparently was upset his dad was leaving the house so Eddie asked if she wouldn’t mind just hanging out at his place. While normally she wouldn’t do that for a first “date,” she felt relieved knowing that Christopher would be there at the house. Call her old fashioned, but you have to woo her before falling into bed. (Then again, Eddie was taken… and dating a man, so she felt pretty comfortable agreeing to go to his house.)</p><p>When she arrived at the house, she was greeted warmly by Eddie and when he let her into the house, she was met by a quiet Christopher. When she tried to engage him, he just walked away without saying anything.</p><p>Eddie, watching the interaction, spoke up to Ana. “I have no idea what’s gotten into him. The moment I said I was going out with you, it’s like his whole attitude changed.” Eddie awkwardly scratched his head, looking at Ana and then down the hall to Chris’s room. He sighed before trying to lighten the mood. “Well, let’s get the food going - I hope you don’t mind, I just ordered take-out. I am not the best at cooking dinners, that’s more of Buck’s speciality. Half the items in this kitchen are from him.”</p><p>“Wow, he must really be a keeper! Apparently he’s a hero and a cook! Seems like you guys got it made.” Ana smiled, looking around. “Where is Buck anyways?”</p><p>Eddie had a slightly puzzled look on his face that Ana couldn’t quite make out. But before he could even say anything, Chris is bursting back in the room at the mere mention of Buck.</p><p>“Bucky!” Christopher exclaimed, his smile wide and curls flopping as he made his way to the front door.</p><p>Eddie, looking more confused if that was even possible, asked Chris what he meant. “Um, <em>mijo</em>, Buck’s not here? We were just talking about him.”</p><p>At these words, Chris just rolled his eyes and said “Buck’s here.” And sure enough, a key could be heard jingling in the lock and the front door opening as Buck walked through the entryway - to be greeted with a very loud “BUCK” from Christopher’s mouth.</p><p>“Hey, Superman!” Ana could her Buck announce before the sounds of Chris giggling. Next thing she saw was Buck running past the kitchen with Chris on his shoulders as they ran down the hall. Eddie, still just standing there (almost in shock), excused himself from the room and went down the hall. Ana, being nosy, crept around the corner to see what was happening.</p><p>She saw Buck in what appeared to be Eddie’s room frantically looking around while Chris was still giggling happily on his shoulders. Eddie, finally finding his voice, was asking Buck what was wrong.</p><p>“I don’t have any more clean uniforms, Eddie! You know how the washer destroyed all my other shirts last week and I can’t find the only pair I have left that doesn’t have huge white patches on it!” Ana could hear Buck saying, his voice slightly higher pitch than usual. “I have a shift in thirty minutes and and I need to borrow yours or something.” At this, Buck went to dart to the other side of the room before Eddie grasped his wrist.</p><p>“Buck, calm down.” Eddie said softly, finally making Buck focus. “Your uniforms are in the laundry room in the blue hamper. I washed them the other day and I told you they were there.”</p><p>“What? No, I would have remembered that!” Buck exclaimed before racing back down the hall and turning into the laundry room. “Eddie Diaz, bless you!” He shouted, triumphantly waving the shirts in the air.</p><p>Eddie, rolling his eyes, just ignored the comment and proceeded to walk back towards the kitchen. Ana quickly scurried back to her spot at the table to try to pretend she was there the whole time.</p><p>“I am so sorry - but Buck clearly can’t take care of himself this week.” Eddie said dryly. “Now, let’s see about food.” As Eddie started to portion items of the take out containers, Ana noticed that he automatically was making a fourth plate. And sure enough, when Chris and Buck came back to the kitchen, Eddie wordlessly handed Buck a wrapped plate and what appeared to be Buck’s car keys. Buck quickly grabbed the items and flew out the door, giving Chris a quick kiss on the head and a rushed, “got to go, thanks again!” before the door shut and it was back to quiet. Until Chris jumped in and started asking his dad if he saw Chris on Buck’s shoulders. <em>(Dad, I was so high! Did you see me? Even when Buck’s moving fast, he never drops me!)</em></p><p>During the dinner, Chris relatively ignored Ana and asked to be excused earlier. Eddie was horrified by his son’s behavior and kept apologizing. “Eddie, really, I think he must find it weird that his English teacher is at his house. Don’t worry about it.” Ana was saying, trying to console Eddie.</p><p>When Eddie walked Ana out of the house, Ana turned to Eddie at her car door. “This was fun, let’s do it again sometime.”</p><p>Eddie looked thrilled that she had a good time and asked if she would like to come over again for breakfast sometime in the future She agreed and with that, got in the car to drive off - giving Eddie a small wave goodbye through the window.</p><p>She found herself smiling on the drive home. She was finally on her way to make friends.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Ana watches the television horrified at what she was seeing. She just turned on the news and was watching live footage of a rescue attempt of a small boy who apparently fell down a well. It was only until lightning struck and chaos happened that Ana let out a small scream as she realized that the firefighter screaming and digging at the mud with his hands was Buck. She watched the screen, hands covering her mouth as the realization hit her. Eddie was trapped.</p><p>After what seemed like years, all of a sudden there was Eddie. He looked terrible and could barely walk. She watched as he collapsed into the waiting arms - Buck tightly gripping his hand.</p><p>She could barely focus on the words that the news reporter was saying as she wiped the tears from her face. Eddie was okay, he had Buck. Christopher would continue to have both his dads.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>It was about three weeks on a Saturday that Eddie reached out to her asking if she wanted to come over for lunch that day. With a smile on her face, she agreed and got dressed to head over to his place. When she got there, Eddie opened up the door with a big smile.</p><p>“Hey, sorry for the short notice for lunch! I totally forgot to follow up on our breakfast plans.” Eddie said while gesturing to her to come inside.</p><p>Ana chuckled, “no worries at all! I wasn’t doing anything at all and I’m starving! I hope you have something good to eat?” Ana said while looking around the kitchen smelling something delicious in the air.</p><p>“Yes, we have lasagna and don’t worry, Buck made it last night so it’s definitely edible.” Eddie was saying as he flicked on the oven light to check on the food. “Should be about 15 more minutes.”</p><p>“Sounds perfect.” Ana said while making herself comfortable on the bar stool. “I’m glad to see you are looking good, I don’t know if you want to talk about it but I saw the news coverage that night about the well. It was so scary just watching it on the tv… I don’t know how you do it.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah, no I was terrified. Definitely thought I was going to die.” Eddie trailed off, gazing off over her shoulder before starting again. “But I just thought of Chris, of Buck, and that was that. I had to make it.” Eddie cleared his thoughts before speaking again. “After the incident, I’ve barely got a moment alone. Buck is like… well, <em>an octopus</em>, just clinging all around me. You know he almost snuck off and tried to rescue me himself before he got caught? I swear, I don’t know what to do him…. Or without him for that matter,” Eddie finished speaking, his voice trailing off.</p><p>Ana laughed at the mental image. “Buck is such a sweetheart. You are so lucky to have him in your life. Chris clearly loves him, all I ever hear is ‘<em>Buck, Buck Buck</em>’ from him so much that before I ever met him, or even you, I knew practically everything there was about this Buck guy.”</p><p>Eddie smiled at this and was nodding his head. “Oh, I know, once he met Buck - it was like his world changed. Buck will literally do everything and anything for him.”</p><p>“He’s a wonderful stepdad.” Ana said, propping her head on her chin. “Definitely makes a good partner for you.”</p><p>At her words, Eddie started choking on his water. “Um, we aren’t, he’s not,-”</p><p>“Oh, I know you two aren’t technically married yet but believe me when I say he’s better than the actual parents some of the kids actual parents. While I didn’t attend the bake sale a while back, I heard Buck was there and let me say, he made an impression.”</p><p>“You think Buck and I are together?” Eddie asked, seemingly confused and Ana couldn’t figure that out.</p><p>“Um, yes? I mean, I clearly don’t have a problem with that if that’s what you’re wondering. I can only hope I find a love like you and Buck,” Ana said, wistfully.</p><p>Eddie opened his mouth a couple of times, trying to say something before he finally just closed his mouth and nodded his head. “Yeah, Buck really is special.”</p><p>After that it was like something changed with Eddie. He seemed more pensive and quiet. Ana wondered if she overstepped bringing up the accident but wasn’t sure. He didn’t seem to want her to leave so she stayed. They ate salad and lasagna while she mainly chatted about her students and gave him more stories of Chris, which he clearly appreciated. He was definitely a proud parent. It was about two hours into her stay that the front door opened and in walked Buck.</p><p>Ana did a double take at his appearance. He was covered in soot and could barely open his eyes.</p><p>“Buck!” Eddie exclaimed, rushing over to Buck. “What the hell happened? Are you okay? Why were you driving in this condition? Are you hurt?” And then proceeded to start speaking in Spanish as his hands flew around Buck’s face before landing on his shoulders.</p><p>At Eddie’s works, Buck was mumbling and trying to speak but was too tired to form words. Eddie threw a quick look at Ana and said, “we will be right back” before leading Buck down the hallway. She heard the low rumbles of their voices and then a door softly shutting. She leaned back in her chair and waited to see what was going on.</p><p>About twenty minutes later, Eddie comes back into the room, shirt slightly damp and cheeks pink.</p><p>“Sorry about the interruption - Buck wasn’t really in a condition to be driving… yet he did it anyway because according to him ‘he just has to be home for Chris later because he promised.’ So, I had to throw him in the shower and then get him into bed.” Eddie was saying as he sat back down, rolling his eyes. “I swear, one of these days, I’m going to strangle him.”</p><p>Ana burst out laughing, she couldn’t help it. She was going to enjoy being part of this life.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p><br/>
It was about two weeks later when she ran into Buck at the grocery store. She would know that big, blonde figure anywhere… and that should make her feel slightly weird that she can pick him out in a crowd but, oh well.</p><p>She pushed her cart down the aisle, navigating towards Buck, who was intently staring down at blocks of cheese. His tongue was slightly tucked to the corner of his mouth as his eyes were scanning the shelves. ‘Men,’ Ana though, ‘some of them might not be the best at grocery shopping.’</p><p>“Hiya, Buck.” Ana said next to him, causing him to startle at her voice.</p><p>“Oh, Ms. Flores, you scared me!” Buck said, laughing it off.</p><p>“Ana, please - I’m Ms. Flores to my students. I’m sorry to startle you but you look like your were about to commit capital murder on those blocks of cheese. What’s wrong, did one of them insult you?” Ana said, grinning widely.</p><p>“Oh, you got jokes?” Buck playfully said, reaching out and lightly tapping her shoulder. “I’ll have you know that picking out the best quality of cheese is essential for a group of kids having a sleepover and a certain person, who shall remain nameless, promised them the best homemade pizzas.”</p><p>Ana smirked, “uh-huh, I see the plot thickening. You do realize that most kids like dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, which come in a bag frozen, so I doubt their culinary skills are highly crafted to identify generic store brand cheese.”</p><p>Buck rubbed the back of his neck and looked over her shoulder. “Well, yeah… but I just don’t want to let Chris down.”</p><p>Ana could feel her heart breaking at this. “Buck, you are that kid’s world. Nothing you can do will change that. Just pick a brand of mozzarella cheese and call it a day.”</p><p>At her words, Buck slowly took a breath and said, “you know, you’re right. And my pizzas are going to be so badass that even the neighbors will be begging to try one.” Buck’s voice has sharpened with confidence.</p><p>“Damn straight!” Ana said, chuckling. “That’s the spirit. Now, pick a cheese and move on.”</p><p>At her words, Buck just shook his head at her antics and then squared his shoulders and grabbed three blocks of cheese and placed it in the cart. “Done! One thing down, twenty more items to get.”</p><p>“Well, you can clearly tell that you are an awesome dad, worrying about the right type of cheese. Maybe next time, send your partner.” Ana said, laughing as she and Buck started walking down the aisle towards the milk.</p><p>“Dad?” Buck said, seeming to choke getting the word out and pausing mid step.</p><p>Ana, glancing over at Buck, simply rolled her eyes. “Jesus, just because you and Eddie aren’t married yet doesn’t mean you can’t be considered like Chris’s second parent. I said the same thing to Eddie when we had lunch. One of you just needs to have a romantic dinner and pop the question already.”</p><p>Buck just stared at her.</p><p>“What?” Ana asked, staring right back, with one eyebrow raised.</p><p>“You said that to Eddie?”</p><p>“Um, yes? I did. And I meant it. I’m enjoying the chance to be friends with you and Eddie and that means giving both of you a little nudge in the direction of marriage. I’m still waiting around for my one love and all but I hope it’s like you and Eddie.” Ana casually tossed over her shoulder and she selected a quart of milk and kept walking, knowing that Buck would be following.</p><p>And that was how she ended up grocery shopping with Buck and being invited to the 118 for a cookout the following Saturday.</p><p>*</p><p>Ana was having the time of her life at the station. And then a truth bomb got dropped on her.</p><p>When she pulled up, it was clear there was a party in full swing and the smell of good food. She got out of her car and walked towards the grill, where a couple of people were congregating. As she got closer, she recognized Captain Nash at the grill, who was currently flipping burgers while wearing a “Kiss the Captain” apron.</p><p>“Um, hi - excuse me.” Ana said politely to the group of firefighters. When they turned, she was greeted with puzzled looks. “I’m Ana… I was invited by Buck…” She trailed off at the looks of confusion on their faces before one of them <em>(who Ana realized was Hen Wilson - yes, she did online stalking, sue her)</em>, let out a surprised gasp.</p><p>“Oh, Chris’s English teacher!” Hen said, while elbowing the man standing next to her (who her brain helpfully supplied was Howie). “Remember, Chim? Buck invited Ana to the get together.” Hen shot a signifigant look (complete with eyebrow raising) again at Ana and then back at.. Chim? <em>She thought his name was Howie? Internet stalking with only get you so far.</em></p><p>Hen extended her hand to Ana, “welcome to the 118!” Hen exclaimed, while shaking hands. “It’s so nice to meet you, isn’t it guys?” Hen said sharply to the group while they just nodded with these odd looks on their faces.</p><p>“Let me introduce you to everyone. Oh, and Cap? You’re burning the burgers.” With that, Hen pulled Ana away from the group and started walking her into the station. “So, that was Captain Bobby Nash at the grill and that was Chimney - I would recommend just ignoring everything he says. You obviously know Eddie and Buck, who are around her somewhere. But let’s introduce you to my wife and kids, and Buck’s sister, Eddie’s grandparents, Carla…” and with that, Ana was whisked away and saying hi to a bunch of people.</p><p>After about twenty minutes of introductions, she finally sat down at the table with Hen, who was giving her a calculating stare. “So, how did you do it?” Hen immediately asked once they were alone.</p><p>“Ummm, come again? Sorry, just not sure what you’re meaning.” Ana replied back, thinking that if the rest of the 118 hated her for some reason, she would just have to say goodbye to any new friendships and try to avoid Buck and Eddie from now on. Maybe get a passport and leave the country.</p><p>Hen gave a short laugh and gestured widely with her hands. “Eddie and Buck! At first, we assumed you and Eddie were dating but then they announced that they were a couple, and it was thanks to you.”</p><p>Ana’s brain stopped working for a minute as she processed this. “Wait, they were already a couple so I don’t know what I did?” She said slowly, waiting for the joke.</p><p>At this remark, Hen’s eyes widened as she leaned over the table. “No, girl! They were friends who were basically co-parenting without realizing it. You come into the picture and somewhere say something to both of them and it makes them realize that they loved each other. Hell, I think Buck is already moving into the house!”</p><p>“Don’t they already live together, wait, I’m so confused.” Ana exclaimed. What the hell was going on?</p><p>“No, no! That’s the thing - Eddie comes to work one day telling us how he was flirting with Chris’s teacher and maybe he could see him dating you… and then Buck starts acting weird (which everyone but Eddie realized was jealousy), but somehow, even though you guys had dates - he still goes for Buck and you’re at a freaking cookout with your ex!”</p><p>Ana started laughing and she couldn’t help it. This was insane. Ana then proceed to tell Hen her side of the story and by the end of it, Hen was laughing so hard she was crying.</p><p>“Hold up, hold up!” Hen gasped out, wiping her eyes. “You friendzoned Eddie before he even knew? Oh my god, this is hilarious. I can’t wait to tell Chim. Man, we were thinking it was something more scandalous! Let’s just say, we were confused on why Buck invited you - which keep in mind, he said this while him and Eddie just announced they were dating.”</p><p>“So they were never dating?” Ana asked. And when she thought back to the very beginning, she could see that… but not really. They just seemed like a couple.</p><p>At this point, Eddie and Buck walked up the stairs, Buck with Chris on his shoulders. Hen rolled her eyes, and said, “well, they are now.”</p><p>She could hear Captain Nash yelling that someone needs to help starting getting the food plated up and the noise of everyone moving and talking at once. But all she could focus on was Eddie and Buck. She watched as Buck got Chris set up at the table while Eddie grabbed a drink to give him. After a quick kiss to Chris’s head, Eddie glanced up and saw Ana.</p><p>“Ana, oh hey! We didn’t even know you showed up!” Eddie exclaimed, walking over to her. At his words, Buck looked over and grinned at her and gave her a wave. “Buck was just saying that he didn’t know if you were showing up.”</p><p>Ana gave a soft smile. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to see what a cookout at a fire station is like. I need some excitement in my life.”</p><p>“Eddie?” Buck interrupted, “I’m going to go grab Chris some food. I’ll be right back.” With a small wave to them, he turned and started going down the stairs.</p><p>Eddie, watching Buck leave, turned back to Ana. “So, I have to apologize.” He sheepishly ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was actually flirting with you that day at the school. I guess I was in heavy denial about Buck that I thought dating you would make everything complete. But then, you kept saying things about Buck and I just kind of… let you think Buck and I were an item. And I realized how much I did want that -”</p><p>“Look, Eddie,” Ana interrupted him. “I truly believed you and Buck were together because you work well. Even if I started dating you before ever hearing or seeing about Buck, I would have quickly realized that I wasn’t the one you were supposed to be dating. I don’t think you guys see how well you have your… bubble… and no one else can come close to being a part of that. I probably would have ended things after accusing you of being in love with your ‘best friend.’”</p><p>Eddie seemed to take her words as truth as he just nodded at her and gave her a soft ‘okay.’</p><p>“But,” Ana continued, “can I just say that I am so happy that I apparently was what the two of you needed to get together? Because how awesome is that?” Ana grinned at Eddie. “I’ve never been a matchmaker and yet, I just performed a miracle according to Hen.”</p><p>“You did. With these two idiots, you gotta spell it out for them. Something we should have done months ago.” Chimney said, walking past them, with a plate of food.</p><p>“Ha ha ha,” Eddie said dryly, before reaching out to try to shove him. Chimney gave an annoyed huff as he dodged the shove. At this moment, Buck returned with a plate of food for him and Chris. Buck eyed Chimney and Eddie’s interaction with a puzzled expression before shrugging and sitting with Chris.</p><p>“Do you want to go get some food?” Eddie asked Ana.</p><p>“Oh my god, yes, I am starving!” Ana eagerly said. And with that, she found herself sitting at the table with the 118 engaging in crazy stories and games. She was accepted as family and seemed like the guest of honor because she was the one that “got Buddie” together. This was a life she could get used to. Plus, Christopher didn’t seem to hate her anymore, which putting all the pieces together, made sense. And, another benefit of being friends with the 118 is that just maybe, there might be a single and attractive firefighter for her. Who knows what the future might hold.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! It's been years since I have felt a desire to write so I just had to get this story out.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>